Beautiful firetails (Stagonopleura bella) are Tasmania’s only native finch, and while I wouldn’t call them fat, at Melaleuca, they have every opportunity to reach their full potential. Over the summer breeding period, the Orange-bellied Parrot Recovery Program puts on a lavish seed spread on two separate feed tables, twice daily, ostensibly with the critically endangered orange-bellied parrots in mind. While many of the parrots do make the most of this all-you-can-eat buffet, they’re not the only birds stuffing their feathery little faces.

Far and away the most common self-selected feed-table guests are beautiful firetails – as finches, seeds are their favoured food. It’s lucky they’re cute – they’re not backwards in coming forwards for a serve of seeds, and are often observed wiping their bills with great enthusiasm on the edge of the food trays. The orange-bellied parrots don’t seem to mind them too much – there’s plenty to go around – and perhaps being in a bigger crowd makes everyone feel that little bit safer, should a hungry bird of prey happen to cruise by.